Brookies Like Pink

That's fairly well known. I do much better with pink worm flies then red or brown. So today when I went out into the snow to fish a mountain freestone I tied on a pink copper ribbed worm. It worked.

Thank god for Brookies. When it gets cold brown trout often eat less and less often, while Brookies eat the same amount if not more and as usual: almost all the time. The weather today was just a bit warmer them yesterday and it was still cloudy, but the small stream natives were ravenously feeding, at least on little pink worms.

I fished pocket water resulting in only one tiny Brooky. But I knew a pool upstream would be holding a lot of fish. It certainly was, and boy were they willing! I must say this is my favorite time of year for brooky colors, because as the spawning colors are fading into a beautiful pink on the bellies and fins, a soft color that I love to see on a fish that is beautiful all the time anyway. And in streams that lack tannin staining, some fish start to turn somewhat lighter in coloration.

Eventually I put a cast into the head of the pool. I watched as sizable fish materialized and chased down the fly it took but came off in the middle of the pool. Not to worry, this was a wild Brooky, not a picky Brown. He just felt a pain in his lip and been pulled a few feet downstream, but his instincts told him he must eat. So he did. I landed this gorgeous creature after a surprisingly long fight. And the pool was still good for another fish.

Downstream another pool, bellow the cool mist of a waterfall, gave up two amazing fish. the second took four times, starting ten feet away, and finally being hooked three feet in front of me. Amazing.

Experiences like this make up for the drudgery and frustration on trips like yesterdays. I'm so glad I went out today.